labor lawAdivision of labor law center

Most Louisiana employers were affected on July 24, 2009 when the federal minimum wage increased from $6.55 to $7.25 per hour.

There is no Louisiana minimum wage. Louisiana is one of 5 US states that have no minimum wage. The others are Alabama, Mississippi, South Carolina and Tennessee. In these states, an employer who is not covered by the federal minimum wage law can legally pay just $1.00 per hour – if they can find an employee willing to work for that amount.

The federal minimum wage law is the FLSA or Fair Labor Standards Act, passed in 1938. The FLSA applies to businesses with annual revenue of $500,000 or more. It also applies to individual employees who are engaged in interstate commerce as a portion of their work duties. Examples of interstate commerce would be a retail clerk who accepts credit cards as payment, a secretary who uses the internet or email, or a switchboard operator who answers out-of-state phone calls.

Every Louisiana employer should (more…)

Over 2 million Americans are the victims of workplace violence every year. Unfortunately, homicides comprise a major portion of this violence. According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics over 200 murders occurred on the job in the early 1990s. In 2006, 94 homicides occurred. Thankfully, the incidents are decreasing, but murders remain a major factor of violence on the job.

OSHA (Occupational Safety and Health Administration) is greatly concerned about violence in the workplace in Louisiana and the U.S., and about the threat of violence against workers. Violence is defined as anything from threats to verbal abuse, to physical assaults and homicide.

Workplace violence can affect all workers, whether blue collar or professional, but certain occupations are at increased risk. Workers who deal with the public, such as employees who deliver packages, handle money; work alone or in small groups late at night or very early in the morning, and those who work in high crime areas.

Occupations that offer services to the public, such as healthcare professionals, social workers and probation officers also face increased risk. Home services providers, too, are at increased risk, including cable TV installers, postal carriers and utility workers.

Surprisingly, statistics reveal that nurses are assaulted on the job as often as police officers. Most of the attacks occur in hospitals, but can also occur when nurses do home visits.

OSHA urges all businesses to establish antiviolence programs, and to provide details of safety measures in writing to all employees. In addition, companies should take certain steps to help prevent workplace violence. Those steps include installing extra lights, alarm systems and surveillance video cameras.

Employees who handle lots of cash should be provided with a drop safe to limit cash on hand. Guards should be hired and all employees should be issued electronic keys and I.D. badges to limit access. Also, anyone who feels uncomfortable leaving a job after dark should receive an escort.

The National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) provide downloads and videos on preventing workplace violence.

OSHA Louisiana Worker Safety

Safety and health in the workplace in Louisiana, and throughout the nation, is a major concern for the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA). In fact, OSHA’s General Duty Clause requires employers to provide a safe environment for its employees. They must keep records of all the threats and incidents of violence by type and remedy the problems immediately. Failure to do so can open the company to severe penalties from OSHA.

To help protect employees from violence and to help prevent violence, OSHA suggests employers take certain steps.

All companies need a safety program that includes procedures for identifying and reporting violence in the workplace. All employees should be trained in these procedures, including how to diffuse and avoid violent scenarios. Regular drills, similar to fire drills, should be run so workers can practice these procedures.

Companies should encourage all workers to practice safety measures in the workplace and when away from the office. Out in the community, employees should refrain from carrying a lot of money, and from wearing expensive jewelry. On travel, too, especially when visiting a new location or situation alone, workers should be careful not to arrive late at night.

Any problems in the physical features of the workplace need to be reported, too. A fire door that doesn’t lock properly or a missing I. D. badge is an important security concern. All problems and all threats of violence should be reported immediately, even if the threat doesn’t seem very serious. Statistics reveal that incidents of violence often provide warning signs, such as destruction of property and verbal abuse.

When an incident occurs workers should get the employee first aid and medical attention. The police should be notified of the incident and the victim advised of his or her right to prosecute. The employer should gather workers to discuss the incident and to offer stress debriefing and counseling.

A female student at Louisiana Technical College is charged with a workplace shooting.

According to the police, the event took place on Friday, Feb. 8 at the school’s Baton Rouge campus. Police responded to a 911 call shortly after 8:30. At the scene, they found three women dead inside a classroom. One of those killed was apparently the shooter. There were about 20 people, including students and an instructor, inside the classroom when the shots were fired.

The school was locked down for about 2 hours, with other students and professors kept in their classrooms until police determined that there was no further danger.

Classes were cancelled for the remainder of the day. A team of counselors were onsite providing support for the students, faculty, staff and family members.

Officers were called to the scene when multiple students and teachers, using cell phones, called in reports of shots fired. All of the violence was focused on one classroom. Few additional details are available on the event, but it seems probable that a female student involved in a personal dispute with other students, reacted violently.

Louisiana Technical College offers courses in aircraft maintenance, cosmetology, industrial mechanics, nurse assisting, plumbing and other vocations. The college has a total of 9 regional campuses across Louisiana.

According to the U.S. Department of Labor or DOL, such violent episodes in the workplace are decreasing. The DOL points to Bureau of Labor Statistics figures showing that in 2006, just 94 homicides occurred in the workplace, down from more than 200 per year in the early nineties.

Still, there have been a number of outbreaks of violence in the workplace in the past six months.

Three people were killed and two were injured when a 63-year-old retired city maintenance worker in Alexandria, Louisiana entered a downtown law office and started shooting. The retired worker, John Ashley, died in a gunfight with police on October 5, 2007 after a 10-hour standoff. Killed were the son of one of the office’s attorneys and a postal worker who had gone into the building to deliver mail. The injured were the attorney whose son died, another attorney, and a legal secretary. Two of the injured escaped and a third was rescued by police.

This was just once case of workplace violence in months past. One of the most tragic cases of the year was the massacre at Virginia Tech on April 16, 2007. In that incident, Seung-Hui Cho killed 32 students and staff members before killing himself as police moved in on him. Officials at the school faced criticism for not closing the campus sooner. Police faced criticism as well for writing off Cho’s original two fatal shootings as a “murder-suicide” even though no gun was found at the scene. Cho, according to the Occupational Safety and Health Administration, or OSHA, demonstrated early warning signs of workplace violence, including fits of rage, an unhealthy interest in weapons, and stalker-style behavior. He had not been getting treatment for his mental health problem.

A 40-year-old waitress at an Orlando Denny’s was killed over the Labor Day weekend 2007 when her estranged husband stabbed her at the restaurant on International Drive. Both staff and customers chased the man, who escaped by jumping a fence, leaving behind a bloody knife and one of his shoes.

A man who threatened to bomb a hospital in the area of the University of Wisconsin Madison and fired shots nearby was described as suicidal by police. The man tried to force a shootout with officers, hoping to be killed in the exchange.

A shooting at Delaware State University left two 17-year-old students dead. In the tragic event in September, 2007 the university went on lockdown.

Two federal subcontractors must pay workers almost $1 million in back wages after a recent investigation by the U.S. Department of Labor’s Wage and Hour Division.

The two firms, with headquarters in Duncan, South Carolina and New Orleans, Louisiana, were subcontractors of CH2M Hill of Englewood, Colorado. L&R Security Inc. and HKA Enterprises Inc. have agreed to pay $941,537 in back pay to 382 current and former employees. The wages go to people employed as security guards and debris removal workers in the wake of Hurricane Katrina.

The investigation showed that both companies failed to pay overtime when employees worked more than 40 hours per week. Under the Fair Labor Standards Act or FLSA, employees must be paid 1.5 times their usual hourly rate when they work more than 40 hours in a single week.

The U.S. Department of Labor also found that the two companies violated the Davis Bacon Acts and the CWHSSA by failing to pay the prevailing wage and provide prevailing fringe benefits to workers, as required of federal contractors.

“The department has made a concerted effort to ensure that workers involved in Hurricane Katrina recovery and cleanup know their rights and are paid all the wages they are owed,” said U.S. Secretary of Labor Elaine L. Chao. “In this case, almost $1 million in back wages will be paid to nearly 400 workers.”

L&R Security, Inc. provided armed security guards at the Federal Emergency Management Agency trailer sites in New Orleans in the wake of Hurricane Katrina. The New Orleans-based company has agreed to pay $185,385 in back wages to 239 workers. In addition, the company will pay a penalty of $37,620 for repeat violations. According to sources, this is not the first time that the company has violated the federal minimum wage laws.

HKA Enterprises of Duncan, South Carolina provided staff to monitor the removal of debris in New Orleans under a FEMA contract held by CH2M Hill from early October to early December 2005. HKA Enterprises has agreed to  pay $756,152 in unpaid overtime to 143 workers.  HKA has 11 U.S. offices reaching from Michigan to Florida. The company’s website says that it provides technical, administrative, specialty craft and skilled labor resources on a contract basis.

A U.S. Department of Labor task force uncovered a number of wage abuses and violations in the wake of Hurricanes Katrina and Rita. The task force uncovered a number of violations, some from companies involving workers nationwide.

This is just the most recent in a series of minimum wage violations uncovered by the U.S. Department of Labor’s Wage and Hour Division.

In August, five jointly-operated restaurants in Long Island, New York were ordered to pay almost $1 million to 191 low-wage workers. The employees had been forced to work long hours for wages less than the minimum wage, without overtime pay.  The court ordered that if the employers did not pay up, their restaurants could be sold and the proceeds used to pay the employees.

In early July, the U.S. Department of Labor forced 107 subcontractors of KBR, Inc. of Virginia to pay some $1.5 million in back wages and benefits for up to 2,600 workers who participated in the Hurricane Katrina recovery project. The construction workers were involved in repairs to the Naval Construction Battalion Center in Gulfport Mississippi or the Naval Air Station/Joint Reserve Base in Belle Chasse, Louisiana. The U.S. Department of Labor is still searching for some of the workers involved in that case. Anyone who believes that they are owed back wages for these projects can contact the nearest U.S. Department of Labor office. The average payment per worker in that case was $616.

The U. S. Department of Labor Wage and Hour Division collected more than $171 in back wages for some 246,000 employees in 2006. Thos wages were a result of 31,987 “compliance actions” in 2006.

In July, Secretary of Labor Elaine Chao joined the Federal Coordinator for Gulf Coast Rebuilding to tour the recently re-opened New Orleans Job Corps Center. Chao, along with Coordinator Donald E. Powell, highlighted the Job Corps’ many contributions in helping the region recover and rebuild after the devastation wrought by Hurricane Katrina.

“In re-opening the New Orleans Job Corps Center, we honored the ongoing commitment to stand strong with the residents, especially the youth, of this great city,” said Secretary Chao.

The New Orleans Job Corps Center was re-opened after construction was completed to repair damages sustained in Hurricane Katrina. The center now offers training in carpentry, as well as health occupations such as certified nursing assistant, phlebotomy and EKG technician, and medical office support. As the center moves toward full strength, additional programs including training for security guards and painting contractors will be introduced.

“As I have said from the start of the recovery effort, diversifying the economy is key to developing a diverse regional economy and a vibrant middle class,” said Chairman Powell. “I thank Secretary Chao for being a champion for the region and supporting all local leaders seeking to build a seamless, integrated system of workforce development.”

The Secretary of Labor went on to add, “Job Corps students and staff nationwide have raised thousands of dollars for hurricane relief, provided care packages and volunteered countless hours with the American Red Cross. They also partnered with Habitat for Humanity to build 11 new homes for Hurricane Katrina victims — the largest skill-based community service project in the Job Corps’ 43-year history.”

Over the past two years, the U.S. Department of Labor has dedicated resources to workforce development in the Gulf Coast and New Orleans. These resources will contribute to the region’s redevelopment.

A recent grant of $15 million will benefit New Orleans youth through temporary jobs and training opportunities. The grant is part of an ongoing effort at hurricane recovery in the troubled Mississippi Delta city and throughout Louisiana.

“This $15 million grant will help at risk young people in New Orleans with valuable skills training, educational opportunities and job experience while at the same time participate in the recovery of their communities from Hurricane Katrina,” said Secretary of Labor Elaine L. Chao.

The grant was awarded to the Louisiana Department of Labor’s Office of Workforce Development earlier this year. The goal is to provide about 1,200 temporary jobs to young people without previous job experience.

Activities under the grant program offer young people the chance to receive occupational skills training, and the opportunity to earn a high school diploma and receive post-secondary education through area community colleges.

A number of programs in the region have been very successful. For example, the River Paris WIA Program  in Covenent, Louisiana recently won a U. S. Department of Labor award for “Serving Out-of-School Youth”.   The program demonstrated innovate techniques in “collaborating with educators, businesses, industry and other essential partners” to train and hire young people.

Despite all the recovery efforts, the Gulf Coast Region has been plagued with problems. A number of minimum wage violations have been prosecuted by the U.S. Department of Labor, including one involving work on two navy facilities. The U.S. Department of Labor’s Wage and Hour Division is still searching for a number of workers who participated in post-Katrina renovations or repairs in Louisiana and Mississippi.

The workers are entitled to back pay from sub-contractors on the projects.  The projects involve work done at the Naval Construction Battalion Center in Gulfport or the Naval Air Station/Joint Reserve Base in Belle Chasse, Louisiana. Anyone who believes that they are owed back wages for these projects can contact the nearest U.S. Department of Labor office.

Despite problems, the regions future looks bright. “The New Orleans Job Corps Center is providing worker training in key fields where skilled workers are needed to build a brighter future for the Gulf Coast,” said Secretary Chao. “The Job Corps will continue to make a lasting impact on the lives of young people in New Orleans. They, in turn, will make a difference for New Orleans.”